Chennai, March 7 In a move to further pressure the DMK government, TVK chief Vijay alleged on Saturday that nearly 30 per cent of Tamil Nadu's ₹4.39 lakh crore budget goes to Chief Minister M K Stalin and his Cabinet colleagues, calling it the "Stalin sir tax."
Addressing the party women at an event near Chennai to mark International Women's Day, he alleged that 20 per cent of the state budget goes to Stalin sir and 10 per cent goes to his council of ministers.
"Our state's total budget is ₹4.39 lakh crore. Out of that, 30 per cent goes to Stalin Sir as tax – 20 per cent to the CM and 10 per cent to his council of ministers."
Referring to the government's financial assistance scheme for women, Vijay said the availability of funds shows that the state does have the resources to implement welfare programmes and development initiatives.
"The government says there is no money. But, it is depositing ₹5,000 in people's bank accounts early in the morning. You deposit ₹2,000, ₹3,000 and ₹4,000 every month. How is this possible? The government does have money. The reason for the deficit is the Stalin Sir Tax," he said.
"If this Stalin sir tax is abolished, everything will function well on its own," he added.
The TVK chief, who has been making several promises, said such initiatives would be possible under a corruption-free and efficient administration.
On February 13, Stalin said his government had deposited ₹5,000 into the bank accounts of 1.31 crore women beneficiaries of the government's women entitlement scheme. Also, he announced that the monthly grant would be doubled to ₹2,000 if his party was voted to power in the forthcoming polls.